


It's Like Rain on Your Wedding Day

by caitlinrose923



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-08 21:19:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13466751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caitlinrose923/pseuds/caitlinrose923
Summary: My contribution to the 2018 Captain Swan January Joy!Emma Swan looks back on the many years she's known Killian Jones as she prepares to meet him at the altar.Artwork by the incrediblecaptainswanandclintasha





	It's Like Rain on Your Wedding Day

**Author's Note:**

> Just a bit of clarification: The story takes place in/around NYC unless otherwise stated. I used the name of one location from Once just to bring a bit of that 'verse into play :)

_ Emma Jones. _

_ Emma Swan-Jones. _

_ Emma Swan, wife of Killian Jones. _

Emma daydreams of names as she gets ready, parting her hair just so and checking her teeth for lipstick.

It’s the day of her wedding, and she still hasn’t decided how to handle the whole “last name” situation. She doesn’t mind the tradition of taking her husband’s last name, archaic as it feels, but she’d chosen Swan herself. It feels a bit strange to just let it go so easily.

But then, she’d chosen Swan when she was a lost little ugly duckling, hoping to grow into the beautiful, graceful creature whose name she’d chosen as her own. Now, things are different.

Now, she has Killian.

She gives herself a once-over in the mirror and thinks about how far she’s come; how far they’ve both come.

They’d chosen the park beside Lake Nostos for their ceremony because they’d met there. The first time, anyway.

They’d been two homeless ten-year-old orphans. Emma had wandered into the park late at night, unsure where she was going. She’d been lost on one of the walking paths when a little boy ran up beside her.

“Are you lost?” he asked, trying to be casual. But Emma could tell he was as scared as she was, and probably lost, too. She nodded her head and he grabbed her hand. “Then let’s be lost together.”

He’d introduced himself as Killian Jones, younger brother of Liam Jones, who was nowhere to be found, it seemed. His eyes were blue like the ocean, and they lit up whenever she smiled at him.

She’d been running from a group home, and had been smart enough to grab a thick blanket to shove into her bag. They found a bench far away from the street, where no one would find them, and laid down face-to-foot. Emma worried he’d be a nuisance and kick her or snore, but he hardly moved while he slept, and she felt safe beside him.

The next day, she woke up alone, but there was a note scribbled on a tiny piece of paper.

_ Went to get food. Back soon. Don’t move!!!!!! _

She stayed huddled under the blanket, still chilly as the sun began to rise, and waited. After what seemed like hours, but was probably only five minutes, she heard footsteps coming towards her quickly.

“I got… sandwiches. But… I had… to steal them.” Killian was panting, out of breath from running. He pulled one sandwich from the bag and ripped it in half. “I hate stealing. But I have no money and I’m too young to get a job.”

Emma nodded in understanding. She’d been eating scraps since she ran away a week ago, and was grateful to have real food to put in her stomach.

While they ate, Killian asked her why she was in the park all alone.

“I ran away,” she said simply.

“From what?” Killian said around a mouthful of turkey.

“I was in a group home. I don’t… have parents. Or anything.” She shrugged. “But the people there weren’t nice and I knew I wasn’t going to get adopted. So I ran away.”

“I have a brother. I just don’t know where he is.” Killian looked around, as though his brother were simply hiding behind a tree, just out of his view. “Our parents died when we were really young, and they separated us. I know he’s here in New York right now. I just… don’t know where.”

“Do you remember your parents at all?” Emma asked. She knew it was probably rude, but she liked hearing about nice families.

“I don’t remember my dad at all. But my mom I kind of do. She was really, really sick. She used to sing to me at night, but she’d cough a lot in the middle of it.” Killian had stopped eating, staring off into the distance, remembering. “I don’t remember a lot about her, but when I think of her, I feel happy. So I know there’s good stuff I just was too young to keep up here.” He tapped his knuckles against his skull. “You know?”

Emma nodded, wishing for a moment that there was someone she could think of and feel happy, even if she couldn’t remember anything else about them.

“I have one photo of her!” he exclaimed suddenly. He reached into his small backpack, pulling out the notebook he must have used that morning. He flipped open the cover and revealed two pictures.

The first was of a couple standing side by side. The man wore a dark suit and stared at the woman beside him, a smile on his face. The woman was beautiful, with long dark curls hanging over the front of her shoulder. She smiled directly at the camera, looking as though she had a secret and she wasn’t willing to share. Her dress struck Emma as one of the most beautiful things she’d ever seen. It was white, and simple, with a sweetheart neckline and lace designs on the bodice. Emma reached out to touch the photo, tracing the lines of the dress with her finger.

“That’s my parents on their wedding day,” Killian whispered.

The second photo showed a child who looked very much like Killian, but with lighter hair and a mole on his right cheek. ****

“And that’s Liam,” Killian said fondly.

Even more than his mother, Killian loved to talk about his brother.

“Liam is eight years older than me. So he’s an adult now, which is good. It means he can take care of me, if I can find him. He used to tell me he wanted to work on boats. We went to the beach a lot, I think. I remember once, our mom took us there and she had to stay under a lot of blankets, but she wanted us to have fun, so she let us play in the ocean. Liam showed me how to build a really cool sand castle.” Killian let his legs dangle from the bench, kicking the air. “I miss him more than anything. I hope he’s here. I hope I find him.” He looked at Emma, as though she’d have the answers he was seeking.

“I bet you will,” she declared.

They stayed together a week, and Emma was near tears when they left their bench. She’d felt safe, as though that bench was inside of an indestructible bubble and nothing could hurt them when they were there. As she watched Killian walk away, hopefully towards his brother, she felt vulnerable and sad.

She thought about how, even though Killian didn’t remember his mother very well, he still felt happy when he thought of her. So she promised herself that she would always be happy when she thought of Killian, no matter how sad she felt right then.

Emma laughs to herself, adjusting her dress a bit, remembering how heartbroken she’d been over the dark-haired charmer who had stolen turkey sandwiches from the deli to share with her. If only her past self knew.

At sixteen, she’d been in Maine, trying to steal an ugly yellow bug she’d spotted sitting unused for weeks when they met again. She’d gotten the door open and was about to shove a screwdriver into the ignition to make it start, only to be scared shitless by a voice from the back seat.

“Swan?”

She’d frozen, shoulders tense and hands on the steering wheel. She’d been alone for years. Who could have possibly known her?

“Emma, turn around. It’s um… it’s me, Killian.”

Killian?

She’d turned slowly, smiling when she found those memorable blue eyes she’d looked into so fondly all those years ago.

It turned out he’d stolen the car the week before. The driver left the key on top of the tire – “some people are far too trusting” – and Killian had taken it and never looked back. He’d driven across two state lines before finally stopping to nap. Which brought them to Emma and her like-minded plan, made much easier with an actual key than a screwdriver shoved into the ignition.

Emma drove, and Killian talked. He told her about his brother passing away. They’d found each other, but Liam was very sick, just as their mother had been. He lived in a cheap apartment and Killian slept on his floor. By the time Killian turned thirteen, Liam couldn’t work anymore. He’d died soon after and Killian had been alone ever since.

For a moment, Emma was glad that she didn’t have anyone. At least being on her own, she wouldn’t ever have to miss anyone the way Killian clearly missed his brother.

They’d put their money together to buy some lunch at a rest stop, and then Killian had driven the rest of the way to the bus station.

“This is my stop,” he said simply.

“What? The bus station? What about the car?”  _ What about me _ , Emma thought. She hadn’t had a friend in so long. It had been nice just… talking to someone.

“It’s yours. It suits you.” Killian reached into his pocket. “I stole this from the rest stop. Thought it might help make the car feel like yours.” He handed her a keychain, a small swan engraved on one side.

“How are you going to—”

“I’ll find a way, love. I always do.” He kissed her on the cheek and climbed out of the car, not giving her a chance to argue.

A knock on the door startles Emma back into the present.

“Emma, are you almost—oh, you look beautiful. Like a princess!” Mary Margaret glides into the room.

Emma let Mary Margaret and Ruby choose their own bridesmaid dresses, so long as they were the same color: ‘capri blue’ according to the dress shop. Emma hasn’t told anyone that this particular shade of blue, which will match Killian’s tie, is her favorite color on him because it brings out his eyes. She hasn’t told anyone, but they know.

Mary Margaret, naturally, chose a floor-length dress with a scoop neckline. It sweeps the floor when she walks, and she looks beautiful and mature and… completely the opposite of Ruby.

As soon as Emma thinks her name, Ruby barrels through the door without knocking. She’s a knockout, despite complaining for weeks about the light color of the dress – “you  _ know _ I look better in dark colors, Emma, you’re  _ killing me _ ”. Her sweetheart neckline dips just a bit lower than it should, and the bodycon style covers everything that needs covering, while also showing off her incredible figure.

“Damn, Emma! You clean up nice!” Ruby teases, fixing her makeup in the mirror and obscuring Emma’s view of herself for a moment.

“Thanks, you guys. Is it weird to be nervous? I’m nervous.” Emma bites her lip, looking back and forth between her two best friends and hoping they’ll have something reassuring to say. Mary Margaret doesn’t disappoint.

“Of course it’s not weird! I think everyone’s nervous on their wedding day.” She smiles kindly and moves Emma’s hair from her shoulders. “But you and Killian are destined to be together.”

Emma rolls her eyes. She doesn’t believe in destiny, but there’s no sense in arguing with Mary Margaret when it comes to the love story of Emma and Killian.

She’d been twenty the next time they’d met. A fake ID had gotten her into a dive bar in the New Jersey town she was passing through on her way back to New York City. She’d had one too many beers and now the guy next to her was definitely going to try to take her home. Emma was a lot of things, but she wasn’t the type to go home with a stranger. Still, he tried, even ordering her another beer and a shot, hoping the extra alcohol would coax her into agreement.

“Sorry I’m late, babe. Thanks for ordering for me.”

Emma turned quickly, recognizing the voice this time. She quickly shook off her look of surprise and plastered on her best smile.

“Of course. I missed you.” She said it sincerely, despite the acting they were doing, hoping her point would come across. At any rate, the guy who’d been bothering her grumbled a bit, something about an  _ ungrateful bitch _ , and then stormed off to the opposite end of the bar.

“I missed you, too.” Killian answered.

They talked until the bar closed, Killian telling her of his adventures traveling across the country, and the woman who’d broken his heart. Emma fought off jealousy – she barely knew Killian, really, despite all the years since they’d first met. She told him that the bug was still running, still getting her safely from Point A to Point B. She’d been busted a year ago stealing an overpriced watch from a jewelry store, but since it had been her first offense, they’d only sent her to prison for three months. The bug had waited for her faithfully.

“I’m glad I gave it to you then.” He smiled at her.

“What are you doing now?” she found herself asking.

“I’m passing through on my way back to New York. There’s a few job openings at a shipyard just outside the city that I’m applying to. None of them will be out on the water, but even being near the ships will make me feel closer to Liam, I think.”

Emma gasped.

“I’m… I’m heading to New York. Too. As well.” She blushed at the way her mouth was mangling her words.

Killian smiled at her as they stood to leave the bar.

“Don’t suppose you’d want to road trip together, then?” He scratched behind his left ear. “I hitchhiked this far, but it’s a bit late at night to try and get picked up on the side of the road.”

“Are you saying you think I’m safe, Jones?” She smirked at him. He looked down at her seriously.

“Oh no, Swan. You’re quite dangerous. Of that I’m sure.”

They stared at each other for a moment before she cleared her throat and led him the rest of the way to the bug.

“That’s quite a vessel you captain there, Swan.” He winked at her as he patted the hood. “You must have gotten it somewhere special.”

“I did,” she’d said.

She’d driven him to Mamaroneck, home of the shipyard where he hoped to find employment, before heading into the city to begin training to become a police officer. She’d been told the misdemeanor wouldn’t completely destroy her chances, so she knew she had to try.

“Earth to Emma,” Ruby snaps her fingers in front of Emma’s eyes. “You daydreaming about what you and Killian are gonna get up to tonight?” She grins wolfishly, waggling her eyebrows like a perverted teenager.

“I was thinking about when he and I met, actually.” Emma sticks her tongue out.

“Which time?” Ruby teases back.

Ruby and Mary Margaret know Emma and Killian’s story from front to back. Mary Margaret may even know it backwards. They’d graduated from the academy together, the three of them, and had been nearly inseparable since.

“Holy shit, who’s that guy?” Ruby’s mouth fell open after their graduation ceremony was over.

Emma’s head turned quickly, and her jaw joined Ruby’s on the floor.

“Killian?”

He turned at his name and grinned when they locked eyes, pushing through people to get to her. Ruby, realizing that Emma somehow knew the gorgeous man she’d been staring at, winked at Emma and disappeared into the crowd.

“Swan! I thought I’d never find you in this mess of people.” He shoved a bouquet of lilies into her arms and wrapped her in a hug. “You did it!”

“What are you doing here?” Emma asked. Killian released her, a wounded look on his face. “Shit, sorry. I’m so happy to see you. I just… I don’t know how you found me. Here. Today.” She gestured around at the crowd of people who’d come to celebrate another class the NYPD police academy. Killian laughed awkwardly.

“Well, it turns out that a friend of a friend of mine is in your class. And my friend, who’s here… somewhere, was showing me photos of his friend’s classmates here at the academy. And you were in the background of at least three different pictures.” He raised an eyebrow at her. The background was her specialty, and he knew it.

“And just who is this friend of yours?” Emma asked. She crossed her arms, but she was smiling.

“His name’s David. He used to work with me at the shipyard, but he’s planning to move to the city and move in with his friend.” He rolled his eyes at the last word. “Said she just needed a roommate, but…”

“You keep saying ‘friend’, but you’re acting like that’s not an accurate word.” Emma suspected she knew just who David’s  _ friend _ was.

“David says friend. Everyone else knows they’re—” Killian cut himself off as something behind Emma’s shoulder caught his eye. Emma turned and, for the second time that day, her mouth fell wide open.

Mary Margaret, prim and proper co-graduate of the academy, was full-on making out with some guy right in front of everyone. Emma had never seen the man before, but judging by the look on Killian’s face, that was his friend.

“That’s David. Some  _ friend  _ she must be.” Killian laughed.

“Yeah… that would be Mary Margaret. She’s just as bad at pretending she and David aren’t dating as he apparently is.”

Mary Margaret and David finally seemed to remember where they were and made their way over to their friends, blushing furiously.

“A bit heavy on the congratulations there, mate,” Killian joked. David shoved Killian’s shoulder in response.

“David just asked me if he could move in with me,” Mary Margaret stage-whispered to Emma. “We’re finally going to make it official!”

Mary Margaret Blanchard and David Nolan had been dating, secretly, for two years. They’d been childhood friends whose parents had hated each other. David’s family moved to the suburbs when they were teenagers, and that would have been that. But a very drunk, very determined eighteen-year-old Mary Margaret had found David on social media and told him she loved him.

They’d tried to keep it a secret as long as possible, neither of them wanting to deal with the family drama of it all. But as Mary Margaret would probably say, True Love conquers all. So, drama be damned. They were doing this for real.

Emma looked over at Killian, who just winked and grinned.

Later, after the four of them had all agreed on a place to go for celebration dinner and subsequently stuffed themselves silly, Mary Margaret excused herself and David, “to go back to my…er, our apartment.”

Emma and Killian sat beside each other in the booth, neither of them wanting to move to the opposite side. She looked over at him and he turned his head to meet her gaze.

“Why did you come?” she asked softly.

“I told you, Swan. I saw—”

“I know that. But just because you saw my face in some pictures…” She shook her head. “That doesn’t explain why you drove nearly an hour just to come to some ceremony you probably didn’t even know was happening until yesterday.”

Killian looked at her, his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

“I came for you. I… I didn’t want you to be alone. I wanted you to know how proud I am of you.” He looked away, finally. “Did I… should I not have come?” His voice was a whisper.

“I just didn’t think I was that important to you,” Emma admitted. She stared down at the table, at their empty glasses.

“Swan… You can’t possibly believe that.” He grabbed her hand under the table, linking their fingers together. “You were my first friend, besides Liam. I don’t… I don’t think anyone is more important to me than you.”

She shook her head again, but left their fingers intertwined.

“We barely know each other.” She knew it was a lie as soon as she’d said it.

“That’s not true at all. I know that you snore when you sleep, but only when your allergies are acting up. That your favorite color is green, specifically just a shade darker than the color everyone wears on St. Patrick’s Day. I know that you ran away when you were ten, but you hardly had anything to run away from to begin with.” He squeezed her hand. “I know that you’re the most caring, kind, and giving person I’ve ever met. And I know that New York is  _ much _ safer with you running its streets.”

It was only a fraction of what he knew. No matter how long they went without somehow running into each other, it always felt like they’d seen each other yesterday. Still, every time Emma left, she felt like she’d never see Killian again.

But every time, she did.

“Emma, I don’t want to… I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but I would  _ very _ much like to kiss you.” He sounded scared, as though he genuinely didn’t know that her heart skipped a beat whenever he looked at her. 

Apparently there were still some things about Emma that remained a mystery to Killian after all.

He didn’t know, for instance, that she’d dreamed about him since she was ten, that she longed for him at times when she was at her loneliest. He didn’t have a clue how much she’d wanted to kiss him for over a decade of her life.

So she didn’t answer, she just  _ did it _ . And it was awkward, sitting side by side in a booth, in front of people who were presumably trying to eat. But it was also perfect. He squeezed her hand and smiled against her lips, and Emma had a strong feeling that the next time he left her side, it wouldn’t be for good.

“Emma, if you keep staring off into space like that, you’re going to miss your own wedding,” Mary Margaret is chastising her, but a smile pulls at her lips. No one is happier for Emma than Mary Margaret, firm believer in happy endings and hope and fate.

“The wedding isn’t the important part. The honeymoon is. And I doubt she’ll daydream through that.” Ruby is incorrigible, but Emma loves that about her. She’d had every boy at the academy drooling after her, and her playful flirtations had always been spread across the entire spectrum of genders. “I bet Killian is—”

“You don’t need to bet on  _ anything _ to do with Killian,” Emma warned, poking her friend in the center of her chest before they both erupt into giggles.

“Today is going to be perfect,” Mary Margaret declares as she hugs them both. “I can feel it. You and Killian both deserve it.”

Emma rolls her eyes, but she secretly loves the way Mary Margaret views life: since Emma and Killian had horrible childhoods and took forever to finally find each other for good, they’re bound to have a perfect wedding followed by a happily ever after.

She lets her friends lead her out of the room, finally, and a bouquet of lilies is shoved into her hands. They’re not a traditional wedding flower, but Emma doesn’t care. She remembers the lilies Killian gave her when he surprised her at her graduation ceremony and she thinks she’ll never love a flower more than she loves lilies. The sun is shining so brightly that she’s nearly blinded when she steps outside. There are dark clouds in the distance, but Emma doesn’t give them a second thought.

The day he proposed, it was storming. He hadn’t intended to propose right then, he’d told her later. But he’d done it and she’d said yes, and that was all that mattered.

They’d had plans to go to the beach, bags packed and bathing suits on, when the sky grew dark and suddenly the beach didn’t seem like a good idea. It wasn’t raining yet, but it would be soon. Chances were that the Jersey shore would have still been sunny, as predicted, but driving through the city in a storm wasn’t worth the sand beneath their toes.

They’d left their bathing suits on, too lazy to change right away, and curled up on the couch to watch whatever was on TV. Emma dozed off, her head in Killian’s lap. He’d shaken her awake within minutes.

“Let’s go outside!” He sounded excited, somehow, despite the weather and their broken plans.

“Killian, it’s pouring,” she’d mumbled, wanting nothing more than to return to her sleeping state.

“So? A little rain never hurt anyone.” He was practically vibrating with excitement, the look on his face downright giddy when Emma finally sat up and looked at him. She rolled her eyes, but stood up to put on her sandals. He dragged her up the stairs of the apartment building, and they got to the roof just as the rain began to pour.

At first, Emma was fairly certain that Killian was just loopy. That he was feeling cooped up and maybe a bit stir-crazy. But when the rain hit her – cold and wet amidst the August heat – she found herself smiling. And when Killian started to run around like a child with no worries in the world, she ran with him. And they danced and they kissed and finally, an hour later, the rain slowed. It didn’t stop, but it no longer pounded on their heads or blurred their vision.

When Emma looked at Killian, his arms around her waist, she was surprised to see the carefree smile gone from his face. His hair was sticking to his forehead and she reached up to move it away from his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, unsure what could have caused his mood to shift so quickly.

“Marry me,” he said. He realized his mistake and hastily bent down on one knee. “I mean, um…  _ will you _ marry me?” He felt around his pockets and then cursed under his breath. “I have a ring downstairs. I didn’t bring it, obviously.” He gestured around at the soaking wet roof and the darkened sky. “But I have one. And… Emma we spent over half our lives leaving each other. I don’t want us to leave each other ever again. So, what do you say?”

She’d gotten down on the ground to meet him at eye-level. He looked worried, the same as he had when he’d first asked if he could kiss her. Emma laughed, unable to stop herself. This man had no idea how deeply she felt for him. She kissed him when he didn’t laugh with her.

“Of course I’ll marry you.”

By the time they reach the place where Emma stands, hidden from Killian’s view, until she marches down the aisle, the clouds have crept closer and the sun is a bit less blinding.

She wonders if it will rain.

For the first time all day, Mary Margaret looks worried. She’s about to start her trip towards the altar, Ruby right on her heels, when she looks up at the sky and her face falls.

“Emma, what if—”

“It’s okay.” Emma smiles. Her nerves are gone now, and she just wants everyone to get down the aisle so she can follow them and finally be married to Killian.

She doesn’t believe in luck, good or bad, but she still hadn’t let him see her dress beforehand. He’d asked once, out of curiosity, but she’d simply made a locking motion over her lips and mimed throwing away the key.

The moment she comes around the corner and the wedding march begins, there is a clap of thunder. The small group of friends they’ve invited stands to look at her, but their eyes are all towards the sky. They look concerned, but Killian, waiting for her at the end of the long red carpet they’ve set out over the grass, smiles.

This moment was why she’d waited to show him her dress. She’d wanted to see his reaction in real time. The dress is simple, flowing and loose, with a capri blue sash around her waist. It's modeled after his mother’s. He’s shown her the wedding photo a hundred times, and it hangs from their apartment wall now.

Emma catches it the moment Killian sees the similarities: the cut, the straps, the lace details across the bodice. He stops smiling and she can tell, even from here, that he might cry. She smiles at him, slowly making her way towards her groom.

No one gives her away, of course. He steps towards her much sooner than he should, and walks the last quarter of the aisle by her side.

“Swan, you look…” he whispers in her ear. It’s in that moment that she decides to remain  _ Emma Swan _ . She knows he would still call her ‘Swan’, even if she changed her last name, but the way it falls from his lips right now makes it feel just right.

“I know,” she responds.

They join hands at the front of the aisle as another clap of thunder sounds.

Their friend Robin officiates the ceremony. He’d gotten ordained online, and Emma and Killian are paying him back by setting him up with Emma’s boss, Regina. He is already trying not to stare at her when he is in the process of getting his friends legally married.

They are about to start their own vows when the first raindrop hits Killian’s head. Emma sees it happen, sees his smile fall as he looks at her, sure she’ll be thinking the day is ruined. But she smiles and nods at him to continue.

“A little rain never hurt anyone,” she whispers. His smile returns as another drop hits his head, and suddenly the sky is falling.

The rain pours and the vows they’ve printed out to read to each other are ruined quickly. Some guests run for cover, but the ones who matter stay.

“I don’t need notes to tell you how I feel about you, Swan. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. We found each other at so many important times in our lives, and I’m so glad I get to have you by my side for the rest of time. You’re everything to me. I love you.”

“Killian, when I was ten, I met a handsome boy who shared his stolen food with me because I didn’t know how to get my own. Since then, you’ve shared more with me than I can possibly recount. I hope we never stop sharing things, and there’s no one in the world I’d rather marry in the rain than you. I love you.”

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. And soaking wet.” Robin laughs. “You may now kiss the bride.”


End file.
